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THE HUNT FOR ROSE

  A NOVEL BY

  BRIAN CAIN

  THE HUNT FOR ROSE

  Copyright 2014 Brian Cain

  The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of the publication.

  Previous novels by Brian Cain

  Circles of Fear

  The Sword And The Dagger

  Previous novels in this series

  Vigilante

  Flaxmead

  Once Upon A Time In Australia

  In The Name Of The Mother

  Jodi Ann

  Bella Elizabeth

  For Horses

  PREFACE

  The thundering equine 'Flaxmead' heads overseas and in an attempt to bring long lost daughter of Flaxmead's creator, Rose Blake, out of the woodwork. John Stanton wonders why the hunt for Rose is taking so long and unleashes the talent of Bella Elizabeth Fonteyn to speed things up eager to encourage Stanton's attention she responds. Jodi Stanton has a late life crisis unsure of whom she is ruffling a few feathers. Roses father Winston Blake snatches his only child from absolute power in a foreign land. Someone has crossed the line and another woman from Stanton's past enters the fray.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PREFACE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  Jodi stepped to one side with a jump, she blinked as she tossed her hair to one side turning, stepping back, it was an elderly man whom had tapped her on the shoulder. She squinted thinking deeply, he was unfamiliar. Looking for clues to the disappearance of Rose Blake after Flaxmead's commanding win at the Melbourne Cup had brought all kinds of information to bear, mostly emails leading nowhere and consuming time. Steeping from her office for lunch with her husband before he set of for Ascot in England with Flaxmead she tired of the dead ends and fairy tales. The media blitz had brought a lot of work, wasted time and frustration. She shook her head. "Do I know you?" she asked the wrinkle face well dressed stranger.

  He looked down shuffling the toe of his shoe on the pavement then looked back up. "No, please forgive me for my interruption but I must speak with you."

  "About What?"

  "Rose Blake."

  "You know her?"

  "I know of her."

  Jodi hesitated with a stern look. "You are?"

  "Bradley Faversham, from Bowral."

  Jodi remained stern; she was becoming short with dead ends and fame seekers. "I'm in a hurry mister Faversham, what did you want."

  "I was there, the night Rose disappeared, I know who she left with."

  Jodi looked wide eyed. "Why now, you've had years."

  "For a very good reason, they left with my daughter as well."

  "Go on."

  Faversham looked around nervously. "Can we go somewhere, I'm probably under surveillance."

  Jodi's face filled with anger. "By whom?"

  "Please if we could."

  Jodi hesitated looking around, she noticed her husband further down the sidewalk looking more than interested. "Follow me." She walked slowly passed her husband occasionally looking round to see if Faversham could keep up. She directed him into a coffee shop two hundred meters from where they met and sat down at a table in a corner at the rear of the establishment.

  Faversham stuttered. "I I I would rather sit outside."

  "My husband would be furious if I did that, in this corner we have our back to the wall and can see all that goes on, no one can get behind us."

  Faversham smiled, nodded and sat down. "Of course, I would not have thought of that, your husband is meeting you?"

  "Yes I am." Faversham looked up with a start. "Good lord, John Stanton, thank god."

  Stanton pulled a chair out for Jodi pushing it gently beneath her as she sat down with her back to the crowd; he then sat with his back to the wall then beckoned Faversham to sit beside him, Faversham shuffled awkwardly into the chair suddenly coughing violently to one side. "Excuse me I am unwell."

  Stanton had no idea who Faversham was and beckoned with his head with a slight nod toward Faversham whilst looking at Jodi. Judies eyes darted around; she threw her hair back behind her shoulders then settled on Faversham's gaze. "You saw Rose Blake leave the hotel in Bowral."

  Stanton's face lit up and he fixed one ear on Faversham. "Yes."

  "Why so many years, this has been in the media many times?"

  Faversham looked blankly at his hands; he fiddled nervously with his fingers before looking up. "Two weeks ago my doctor gave me six months to live at the most, I have lung cancer," she shook his head "I have wasted my life hiding."

  Jodi and Stanton looked puzzled at each other then at Faversham. A waiter interrupted. "Would you like to order?"

  "Three cappuccinos snapped Stanton".

  "Anything else?"

  "Not at the moment."

  "We are busy, ten minute wait".

  "Fine," the waiter left with a smile.

  "Hiding from whom?" asked Stanton.

  "The people whom have Rose and Rhiannon."

  "Rhiannon?"

  "My daughter."

  "Who are you."

  "Bradley Faversham, Rose and Rhiannon worked in the same government department in Canberra as I."

  "Rose Blake worked in a government department."

  Faversham looked puzzled and stared blankly at Stanton. "Yes did you not know that?"

  Stanton grabbed his phone and rang Winston Blake, he answered the phone promptly. "John."

  "Quick question Winston, where did Rose work in Australia."

  "She worked for a real estate agent in Canberra."

  "Thanks Winston."

  "Anything wrong?"

  "No, just having coffee with Jodi. Call you later." He hung up and pulled a cumbersome phone from the deep pocket of his full length leather great coat and punched a key. A ring tone responded. "Where do you live in Bowral?"

  "21 Wicket Street."

  "Been there long?"

  "Forty years."

  A voice answered the satellite phone and Stanton wasted no time. "Cadiche, Bradley Faversham, yes write it down, 21 Wicket Street Bowral, want to know all about him, you have two minutes."

  "Jesus Stanton get real." Stanton hung up on Cadiche.

  "If your bullshitting to me Ill kick your arse across the other side of the street."

  "Please Mr Stanton, I wish to unload a weight from my shoulders so harsh to bear no suffering you could imagine would make things worse."

  "Go on."

  "Rose and Rhiannon were taken by the American Secret Service, at least that's what I called them. I have lived under a veil of threats to kill me and my daughter should I ever tell anyone what I know."

  Stanton lent back on his chair resting his head on the wall. "Why would the American Secret Service want Rose Blake and your daughter?"

  "I have no idea; I'm terrified and have been since they disappeared. I just did my job and became a hermit."

  "Bullshit, you'd do anything to find your daughter, just like Blake, makes no sense."

  "I'm hardly as lucrative, wealthy and flamboyant as Blake, I'm a coward. Keeping q
uiet as instructed was the only thing I was brave enough to do."

  Stanton's satellite phone rang, Stanton answered and Cadiche spoke. "Very interesting, Bradley Faversham, one stage attaché to the American Embassy in Canberra, transferred to a desk job in Bowral with department of statistics. The date rang a bell, around the same time Rose Blake disappeared."

  "Short bloke, pale skin, round face, glasses, overweight."

  "No, six foot, dark skin, long face, wide jaw, skinny as a rake."

  "Yeah that's him. Get a warrant and tear his house to bits I want to know anything suspicious you find."

  Faversham reacted. "No, please."

  "Do it quick as you can, arrange a stakeout at his house, I want to know who goes near the place and what they had for breakfast. Mr Faversham just become a star witness in the Rose Blake case. Search the government employee files of the attaché to the American Embassy and the department of statistics, if you find Rose Blake's name or Faversham's daughter Rhiannon get back to me immediately. Faversham is at the coffee shop just down from Jodi's office, arrest him and lock him away where no one can get to him."

  "What's he done exactly, I have to fill in paperwork."

  "Use your imagination; try suspicion of murder in the Blake case."

  Faversham became agitated. "Please I hoped you'd find my daughter so I could see her before I die."

  "Me too, those two men at the table outside in sight, seen them before."

  Faversham turned and squinted into the light of the sidewalk tables. "Good lord, yes, I've seen them in Bowral quite allot, I think they live there."

  "Bullshit, excuse me." Stanton stood and walked toward the two men seated outside catching them by surprise as the waiter delivered coffee to Jodi and Faversham. He stood over the two neatly attired middle aged men in suits. "Got some ID."

  "What." was the answers in a broad American accent.

  "Show me some ID or Ill have so many people up your arse you'll need surgery just to walk straight."

  "We are American government employees and have diplomatic immunity." One thrust an ID wallet into Stanton's face, Stanton took it and dropped it in the mans coffee. "Who the hell do you thing you are."

  "I don't think I'm John Stanton I know I am, you think you can do whatever you please, you're wrong."

  A police car screeched to a halt adjacent to the coffee shop, Stanton moved to the kerbside cutting the officers off, he spoke with them for a few seconds. One headed towards the Americans at the outside table, the other inside to Faversham. Stanton returned to the table insides, the officer stood against the wall watching the crowd. A second police car arrived and the Americans were man handled inside, the car left in a hurry. Stanton sat back down, he looked at Faversham and spoke as if nothing had happened. "Continue."

  Faversham was more at ease. "They won't be watching my house when the police arrive?"

  "No."

  "What will happen to them?"

  "Continue we don't have much time."

  "Rose Rhiannon and I found something irregular whilst handling documents while I was the American attaché. I reported the find to my superiors, we were immediately posted to statistics in Bowral, Rose and Rhiannon left the hotel that very night with a young American that managed a band the girls wanted to see that just happened to be passing through. The next day I learned he had nothing to do with the band and my life was threatened."

  "Name of the person whom threatened you?"

  "Ben Porter the.."

  "Minister for Defence, committed suicide few years back."

  Faversham hesitated. "His family swear he was murdered by a British agent."

  Stanton sighed. "I know the story, point is he's dead and dead men tell no lies no matter how they meet their end. Did Porter say anything I can use when he spoke to you?"

  "Only that the matter was out of his hands and my daughter would die if I went near anyone. The matter was of utmost importance, important enough to have me watched. He knew I had the documents hidden that could surface if I was harmed."

  "Those documents without a doubt saved your life, where are they?"

  "In a Swedish bank vault with my life savings."

  "We'll hold you in custody until I check a few things, bad timing, out of the country tomorrow." Stanton looked at the officer. "Deliver him to Cadiche."

  "Sir." The officer took Faversham's arm, he resisted taking Stanton's hand across the table.

  "You'll get them."

  Stanton half smiled and clasped Faversham's hand. "I always believed Rose Blake was alive, now I'm sure. If you are she is and their must be a good reason for it. You may not be the only one with valuable information."

  "Rose and Rhiannon have a lap top computer belonging to the defence department. They stole it believing they could prove unfair dismissal if they lost their jobs."

  "If only it was that easy. Who's computer?"

  "Porters, I think he knew they had it, that's why he came to see me, perhaps he thought they gave it to me."

  "Did they?"

  "No, I have no idea where it is?"

  "If things check out you'll find yourself in Sweden shortly, Id like those documents."

  Faversham nodded, he left with the police officer in silence. "John I can read you like a book, you killed Porter didn't you?"

  He ignored Jodie's question and rang Cadiche on his satellite phone. "Do you remember a lap top computer being found during the search for bodies in the Milat in the Belanglo forest near Bowral?"

  "Well hello would have been nice, yes, belonged to the government, stolen property, was returned."

  "Thought I remembered, thanks, Faversham's coming your way hold on to him, don't let anyone you don't know near him, talk to you soon." He hung up. "Rose must have dumped the computer, it was found and returned, Faversham gets a visit from Porter, makes sense."

  "You killed him didn't you?"

  "Jodi you don't need to know, he committed suicide."

  Jodi looked at her husband with a scowl, and then settled. "Do you think the girls copied the contents of the lap top and hid the copies?"

  "What would you do?"

  "Just that."

  "The information may be useless now but Faversham is being watched again, they must be alive."

  "The media attention from Flaxmead."

  Stanton nodded. "We have a chance now, we have a chance. Get onto Billet, ask for every scrap of information he can find, increased email traffic between department employees, overheard in the canteen, anything that mentions Flaxmead or Bowral."

  "You've turned Billet into a nervous wreck, he's having trouble functioning. I spoke with him last week about Lovington, he's burnt out."

  Staunton thought for a few seconds looking at the wall, and then turned to Jodi with a smile. "I appreciate the fact Billet operates under difficult circumstances, but Billet wants to play lumberjacks and must handle his end of the log. Contact him direct and make sure he understands what we are looking for."

  "You're willing to gamble Billets position over this, the push for Cadiche as next police commissioner is being linked to Billet, and the opposition are gaining ground regarding the issue."

  "By this time tomorrow the opposition will wonder what happened to any once of credibility they had."

  "I wish you'd tell me what's going on sometimes John."

  Stanton stood, lifted his wife up gently by the shoulders and pulled her close with his arms around her looking deep into her face. "Jodi, love, you know information is on a need to know basis and you don't need to know. The same reason you hold information from me, such as Elderslie being your father's chauffer before he passed him on to Bartholomew and Wilson."

  Jodi looked around then back at her husband with a blank look; she pushed him away and nervously arranged her hair. "John we're drawing an audience."

  Stanton looked around at the blank faces staring at them. "Bring me chocolate if you want to live." he grunted out loud in a Scandinavian accent. The dinners laughe
d out loud as Stanton ushered his wife away from interested eyes and earshot not far from her office. "I don't know if you're running things or I am, I don't really care, without you I would fade to nothing."

  Jodi blushed looking rather forlorn. "John please be careful, we are about to part for a while and it's always difficult to cope."

  "We have too much to work on to worry about petty differences and concerns, it's only a couple of weeks and we'll spend time together when I return. We are taking Flaxmead to the airport tonight and flying out under cover of darkness, Blake and I are about to inform the crew and be gone. I'm leaving nothing to chance."

  "But I arranged for a massive media contingent in tomorrow afternoon."

  "Yes, no one will have a clue so they can't worry us."

  "What about Heathrow."

  "Keep pushing it, at least I can rely on knowing where the media will be. There will be a horse and strapper loaded on the plane tomorrow afternoon and at Heathrow but it won't be Flaxmead or Jessica Flametower. First anyone gets a look at Flaxmead will be his arrival at Ascot."

  "Thank god for that." Jodi embarrassed her husband, drew away and looked him in the face with a smile, they understood each other perfectly. She drew her hands from his and walked to her office. Stanton vanished.